Former NBA player Olden Polynice shared his thoughts about LeBron James during his appearance on “Byron Scott’s Fastbreak” podcast last week. He explained one aspect of LeBron’s tenure in Tinseltown that he despises to this day.
James has played his last seven seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers, and save for 2020, when they won it all in the Orlando Bubble, James’ teams have come up short every year. They have missed the playoffs twice, fallen in the first round three times, and lost in the WCF once.
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However, while James was praised when they won the Bubble title, his teammates or the coach were blamed in the other years.
“The one thing I’ve always hated about LeBron, here it comes. It’s like when they win, it’s all him. When they lose, it’s all them,” said Polynice.”I’ve always hated that narrative. We could have spoken more about his greatness if one day he said, ‘That’s on me.’ Just one time – ‘That’s one me.’ And to me, that’s the problem,”explained Polynice.
Bron never took the blame
When James joined the Lakers in 2018, they had a very talented young core led by Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart. However, they renounced their rights to Randle. They traded the other three to acquire Anthony Davis after they missed the playoffs in LeBron’s first year in Los Angeles.
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Sure enough, the trade paid dividends, as the Lakers won it all in 2020. However, after they came up short in 2021 and 2022, they fired Frank Vogel, who coached the title team. Next, Russell Westbrook was scapegoated and traded in 2023.
Vogel’s replacement, Darvin Ham, was next to go after Ham led them to the 2023 WCF. Last season, the Lake Show also traded D’Angelo Russell after he struggled in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
While Polynice did not mention these moves one by one, he said that James never took blame for any of their failures and did not say or do anything when the narratives blamed his teammates.
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“Again, one of the greatest ever. I admit it. I’m a fan. I love LeBron James, people, but facts are facts. Reality is reality. Y’all need to, you know, stop acting like a fool because when people talk about LeBron, or talk about anybody that you don’t like, I’ve always said this man, Dr Wayne Dyer said it best: ‘People are always looking for a reason to be offended.’ And I don’t give a damn about y’all because the truth is what it is…Goddamnit, change your diapers,” OP added.
The price of having LeBron on your team
But if you ask his former Miami Heat teammate Udonis Haslem, it’s not that James does not take blame or accept faults. Haslem believes playing with LBJ is both a blessing and a curse.
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If he plays with the right people, the team is successful. However, if the players on his team can’t handle having him, they end up getting blamed and/or traded.
“If you can handle LeBron coming to your team, it works out for you, and it can be successful. The problem is — everybody can’t handle it. When LeBron comes to your team, there’s winning expectations instantly. No waiting, no four or five-year process; there ain’t none of that. The pressure is on, and the fire is on your a**. If they don’t win, if y’all don’t win, he ain’t the one that’s going to be out of there; it’s you. That’s what a lot of people can’t handle,” Haslem said on James Posey’s podcast a couple of years back.
If you listen closely to Polynice’s declaration, it’s not really LeBron he’s blaming here. It’s the narrative thrown around him. Because if you look at history, and the OP was talking facts, LeBron took blame for the Heat’s loss in 2011 when he said that he froze, didn’t show up, and was late for his own funeral in that series.
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But then again, maybe Olden was just talking about his Lakers tenure, where he hadn’t said anything to those lines in the six seasons they didn’t win a championship. In that regard, he has a point. But it’s the narrative, not LeBron.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.